


In the Wastes

by TypicallyUntypical



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Body Horror, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Robot Logic | Logan Sanders, but not really, sexual innuendo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28493451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TypicallyUntypical/pseuds/TypicallyUntypical
Summary: Several years ago the world began to protest the cruelty of humanity, sending storms that were nearly unsurvivable. However, humans are survivors, and Logan is certain that if he can just repair the beacon he might be able to find some humans who will be able to help him repair the malfunctions in his systems.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	1. Still Human

“Date Log 071013 time approximately 7:00 am, as stated in yesterday’s log, the clock on my desk contained important components to fix the safety beacon. It has been approximately 300 days since my radar picked up any other safety beacons in the area. This can be verified by checking previous logs. I believe it is possible that I am one of the few sentient beings left on the planet. I hope that this is not the case and I am simply in an isolated bubble, but fixing the safety beacon was the first step in testing this hypothesis.” Logan looked at the screen where his voice was being recorded, watching the starting sequence load for the beacon. He was not a fan of the name, but since it was not his design he would respect the creator.

“The safety beacon is now up and functioning again after 68 days of disrepair. If there are any others who exist and live within terrafirma, they will be able to see my beacon and seek shelter.” He turned off the log.

The safety beacon had been developed rather quickly after the storms began to roll in. The design was simple and easily made with household and emergency items. It would send out a ping that could be picked up with simple scanners, letting people know of places where they could shelter from the storm. When the storms grew into deadly gales that showed no sign of passing over, safety beacons were set up all over. Logan’s memory of that time was hazy, and he had no logs that dated back that far. There were some other documents that covered that time period but nothing quite as detailed and clinical as what he was prone to writing.

Logically, Logan assumed his programming must have been in the beta stages. He wished he had perfect recall of those events, but he would have to settle with the vague memories he possessed. He recalled a feeling of comfort from seeing those dull blips on his scanner. His hope of some unknown conclusion to this plight faded one by one with each beacon. It was a quaint human notion, but Logan didn’t want to see his own light disappear as well.

Also, having a safety beacon was practical. Logan convinced himself that it was purely because there was safety in numbers, that more people in his small compound would make repairs and gardening easier. Not to mention that he couldn’t leave the compound. His batteries had long since lost their efficiency and he was stuck being plugged into his power grid. Having a second person meant that he might be able to get more equipment for the things that needed to be replaced. There were many logical reasons that he would need another person.

He would never admit that he wanted the companionship. The loneliness was getting to Logan, but that was just a defect he would have to deal with.

Logan eyed the screen, his left eye looking exceedingly crude and robotic, but his right eye looked almost human. It was cruel to have been modeled after humans and then left alone. His eyes narrowed and he looked at the screen, once again pulling up the log. “Subject, myself, has been experiencing loneliness. This has been one of the few emotions noted, therefore I believe there is a possibility that the subject’s programming is corrupted.”

He turned off the recording and looked at the screen, seeing the reflection of his own eye. “I can fix parts if they go bad but I cannot make a change in my operating system without another here. It is extensively dangerous, but this feeling…” His fingers reached up and touched where his heart would have been if he was human, instead touching the cold steel of his chest in the barest of touches that he could not feel.

“How do the humans bear it?” A sigh left his lips as he closed up the logs, pulling up his to-do list. It was best to keep his mind occupied. There were some repairs to the doors that could be done, then he would need to check on the garden. He had enough things to keep himself busy even if they weren’t really ‘necessary’.

Logan grabbed his tools and made his way to the door, wanting to make sure that it would easily open if anyone were to see his beacon. He worked deftly with practiced ease as he tested and oiled the joints with what materials he had left. His own gears would needed a proper oiling later, he really wished that he had a silicon-based oil, the vegetable oils that he was making from his garden were not a proper substitute.

“Hello?” The voice surprised Logan out of his thoughts as he looked up at the door monitor. “We saw your beacon.” He had not expected a response that quick, but he couldn’t explain the feeling in his body as he looked at the three humans from the screen. It was most likely another malfunction, but with new people, he could finally have that look at that. He hit the button to open the door and the three figures tumbled in to escape the storm.

“Thank you, Thank you,” it was the same one who spoke earlier, and as he lowered his hood he looked up at Logan. The man’s face was littered with freckles and he had a mess of curly brown hair. “We were returning home with our supplies when it got destroyed. Your beacon was a life send.”

Logan looked at the man curiously before watching the other two also take off their hoods. Both looked very similar, though the second man had a wild look in his eyes and patchy facial hair; Logan was certain that was on purpose. The one with facial hair shook his head like a dog, getting the other two wet before looking at Logan.

Their eyes connected, pure untamed chaos looking at Logan with a smirk, and Logan could feel his circuits frying.

“I’ve always wanted to fuck a robot.”

He was immediately smacked by the look-alike, a twin maybe, “Remus, behave.”

Remus proceeded to stick out his tongue.

“My name is Logan, I am the caretaker of this compound, it is my pleasure to welcome you in.”

“Huh.” The curly-haired one looked him up and down, something shining in his eyes that Logan couldn’t read before it was pushed away. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Logan, thank you for your hospitality. I’m Patton, and these two are Roman and Remus.”

Logan nodded. “I will show you around, please feel free to make yourself comfortable. All I ask is that you consult with me before taking apart any electronics in the event that I need the parts to repair my own circuitry.”

“Oh, he’s fascinating.” Remus pushed past the other one and ran up closer to Logan. “So how long have you been here? We thought the last beacon went out months ago.”

“My beacon did go out around that time and I have been working to fix it since. My limitation-” Logan gestured to the cord, “had made it difficult to repair the beacon but I managed to get it up and functioning again this morning.”

“Neat. Why do you have human parts if you are a robot?”

“I am not certain, it has been a long time since I was created and I assume I originally had a full set of human-like skin to make those around me more comfortable.”

“Are all your parts robotic?”

He wiggled his eyebrows and Logan furrowed his in confusion.

“Remus, stop asking such rude questions,” Patton said in a hushed tone.

“I do not mind the questioning, I am just confused by it. I’m not certain what you mean by all of my parts, but to my knowledge, much of my body is robotic, if not all of it. I assume the scientists who made me may have been experimenting with the integration into the human system.”

Patton and Roman shared a look that they must have thought Logan couldn’t see, but he was a very observant person. He wasn’t sure what their concern was. However, he decided that if they wanted to bring it up to him they would in time. Logan was just thankful to have people around.

The next few weeks went by completely uneventful, Patton, Roman, and Remus had gotten used to the living arrangement and were happy to help with taking care of the compound. Logan found out quickly that Patton was great at keeping things clean and Roman was very creative in making food that tasted delicious despite having a minimal amount of ingredients. Logan rather enjoyed the meals that the four of them shared, though his need for human fuel as well as his battery components had apparently confused all of them. Remus was, as Logan expected, the one to bring it up.

Logan had found that Remus was insatiably curious, a trait he rather valued. It was nice to have someone around that enjoyed listening to him talk about theories and anatomy. In return, Remus told Logan all about the wasteland, the space outside of his compound where things seem to have gotten much worse. It was a strange notion because Logan couldn’t remember having traveled very far outside the compound, and certainly not since before the storms as he hadn’t been made. Yet, when Remus spoke of a swirling storm of grey, Logan pictured a flash of dark blue in his mind, a sky that seemed endless and vast and bordering on the time of stars. He knew about stars, but couldn’t remember having ever seen them.

“So Lo, whatcha gonna tell me about today?” Remus asked one morning, hopping up onto Logan’s work table, ignoring the stack of papers he almost crushed. “Finally going to let me see if you are fuckable?”

“No, Remus, I thought today I could answer any questions you have,” he could see Remus was about to speak so cut in, “that don’t have to do with my genitalia. In return, you could help me with a corruption in my operating system.”

“Corruption? Interesting, okay, I’m in. How many questions do I get?”

“Five before and five after.”

“Hmm, how long you been here specks?”

“I’m not entirely certain, my logs date back approximately seven years but I have a few memory files that are difficult to access, but they would suggest that I have been ‘alive’ longer than that.”

“Wow, seven years, you been here alone that whole time?”

“Not entirely, I review my logs occasionally and there was mention of a scientist by the name of Janus. I believe he was partially responsible for creating me. There was an accident though, and I’m afraid my log taking skills were exceedingly crude at first.”

“Maybe you killed him, went berserk, and just took him apart.” Remus dramatically flung his arms about.

“It is a possibility, though I would hope not. It wouldn’t have been very logical to attack those who created me.”

“Unless they hurt you.”

Logan paused at that, he couldn’t remember, but it was possible.

Remus was preparing his next question when they were both interrupted.

“Logan look!” Patton and Roman had come walking in fairly quickly. “We think we found something that belonged to you.”

There were a lot of rooms that Logan didn’t go into due to a safety protocol in his system. Anytime he got close to those rooms his body would begin to shut down. Logan assumed there were things in there he wasn’t meant to find. Those restrictions didn’t apply to his guests. So, he wasn’t surprised they had found something. His eyes locked on to what they had grabbed, tracing over the white fabric.

As Patton handed it over, Logan put it on in a single motion, something that his body should not be accustomed to as he didn’t remember ever seeing this lab coat. His name was on it though. It was singed on the bottom, but it fit perfectly. Logan turned to look into the reflective screen of his monitor, reaching up to adjust a tie that wasn’t there.

And he remembered.

_“You look like a dork.” There was a warmth that came with that voice. It made him feel safe and cared for. Logan turned to look at his brother, rolling his eyes affectionately._

_“And you look like someone who is hoping to have a lab accident.”_

_“What’s another accident between friends?”_

_“Seriously Janus, can’t I drum the importance of lab safety into your head.”_

_“Oh, the humanity, taking lessons from my younger brother, how will I ever cope.”_

_Logan turned back to his experiment, trying to hide the smile on his face._

_“I just came to tell you that your crop fertilizer is working great, best bounty we’ve had all year.” Logan heard a knock on the door frame twice, knowing that meant Janus was leaving. He looked down at the pristine white coat, not wanting to get it dirty so soon, but also knowing the importance of lab safety. Then again, what he was mixing wasn’t so much in danger of giving him acid burns. He had done this so many times before. Logan hesitated before shucking off the coat, hanging it over the table, and going back to his experiment. The pride that Logan felt getting praise from his brother swelled in him, but it was a distraction._

_He let his pride overcome his caution, and he realized too late that he had added too much to his solution. There was a brief moment of clarity where he knew exactly what was going to happen, then the world came tumbling down. His hands flew up to his face, elbows tucked in as he tried to protect his chest. The explosion felt deafening. His arms would never be the same, but maybe he would survive. Logan hoped he would survive._

Logan sat up panicked. His breath was heavy and unnaturally rattled through his body. He touched at his face but he didn’t feel it, at least it wasn’t what he was expressing and his breath caught. It was coming back as the fog in his mind cleared. Janus had fixed him, Janus had patched him up and they fought.

“Logan you need to breathe, slow deep breaths.”

That voice, it was the curly-haired one, Patton, right? Logan took in a slow, deep breath. It wasn’t helping, his thoughts were too chaotic.

Where was Janus? Why had he never come back? Had Janus given up on him? He really was just a robot now wasn’t he? In his isolation, he had lost too much of his humanity. How long had it been?

“Alright nerd, focus on my voice.” The gruff one, Remus. “I’m gonna tell you a story, just focus on that, don’t think about anything else.”

Logan tried, and it was a fight, but eventually Remus’ story won over. Logan began to relax enough to focus on it. The story was fantastical but there were some strange things. “Remus, your story is illogical.” He muttered, finally opening his eyes. His breath was still mildly labored, but he wasn’t gasping and clawing at his metal chest for air.

Remus was smiling down at him. “That’s half the fun.”

“You are probably going to give him nightmares,” Roman said with a flourish of his hand.

“How dare, not everyone is as much of a pampered princess as you, right Lo?”

“Thank you for your assistance, I am feeling adequate now.” He began trying to sit up but felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Nope, you need rest mister. You passed out and scared us pretty bad.”

“It was a minor malfunction.”

“Humans don’t malfunction!” Patton sounded worried and Logan really wished he wouldn’t.

“Debatable,” Logan muttered under his breath. “Patton, I am fine.”

“You really aren’t, but I’m not giving you a choice. Remus, watch him, Ro will you help me get some soup on?”

Logan let out a resigned sigh, “this really isn’t necessary.”

“Oh I know,” Remus said, “but I also know better than to go against Patso. He has a real dick up his ass for doing the right thing.”

“Is everything about sex to you?” There was no malice in his voice.

“Nah, some of it is about murder, but you should have known that it was a big part of it. I mean, my first greeting was that I wanted to fuck you.”

“You stated you wanted to fuck a robot.”

“True, so I guess, I should rephrase. I wanna fuck you, nerd.”

“What’s the difference?”

Remus was silent for a bit, and Logan took that as his answer. Remus couldn’t answer his question because it was true. He really had lost his humanity.

“Well first off you are curious.”

“What?” He snapped his head to look at Remus.

“You are curious, you don’t just take notes of things but you want to know how they work and function, even if it’s not important. That’s not a very robot thing Lo-Lo.” Remus jumped onto the table Logan was resting on, sitting his butt on it.

“Plus you still have humany bits. That’s why Pat is so worried, you could have cracked your skull and bled out, what would we do then without our gracious host, plus it would be his fault since he kind of started all of this with the lab coat but Shh don’t tell him.”

“Remus-“

“I know, I know. Shouldn’t blame him blah blah blah. Well, that’s not even the point really, but rather the fact that you are still human. The electrodes don’t change that. You are still a sexy nerd, just with extra parts. That’s why I like talkin to ya. If you don’t have an answer you will find it. And it’s kind of cool to see someone actually care about my questions and stuff.”

Remus was swinging his legs and it rocked the table a little, but it was comforting. Logan wasn’t sure why, but it was.

“I have made a million mistakes.”

“Eh, haven’t we all? That’s just more proof that you are human. So, enjoy the mistakes, sometimes the consequences are fun. Pat likes to say we grow from our mistakes, but I’m pretty sure we grow from food.”

“Caloric intake is an important part of a human body’s ability to function.”

“That’s why you still have to eat.”

“Can someone stop being human?”

“Eh, that’s a tough question and I don’t like those, but I know you haven’t.” Remus turned to look at him. “You are still human.”

Logan closed his eyes, both of them, and felt tears falling from the human side of his face. When was the last time he had felt like that was true? And why couldn’t he believe himself but when Remus said it…

“Hey, Patton will be gone for a while, so why don’t I ask the rest of my questions?”

“Okay.”

“Is your real name Logan?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mind me being here?”

“No, the company has helped.”

“Do you like me?”

“Very much, you are a wonderful companion to have.”

Remus smirked, shifting so that he could look into Logan’s eyes, though Logan refused to open them, afraid of what his body might do.

“Can I kiss you?”

Logan hesitated, but nodded, finally opening his eyes as he looked up at Remus. Their kiss was more soft and gentle than anyone had a right to make it. Logan had not expected Remus to kiss him so gently, and when he pulled away, Remus just smirked.

“What can I say, I’m unpredictable.”

“Then I can’t wait to see more.” Things weren’t perfect, but this… this was better than being alone.


	2. The Storm an the Viper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little explination of where Janus and Virgil are.

It was there. A light in the darkness. Janus couldn’t believe his eyes. The blip had been gone, and he had allowed his hope to fade, but it was there again, shining like a beacon of hope that he was afraid to reach out to. He knew the world’s lies, and nothing was ever as it seemed, but he felt the sickeningly sweet taste of hope that he couldn’t push down.

“Dee, get your ass up?” Virgil called from a different room, but Janus didn’t move or respond. That probably worried his overly anxious boyfriend but Janus couldn’t pull himself away from the radar.

“Janus?”Virgil’s voice was much softer this time, as he stood in the door of their room. Even without looking at him, Janus could tell his movements were hesitant and concerned. “Hey, you can’t keep looking at that scanner.”

“It’s back.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, Janus passed Virgil the scanner before he began to pace. “It is back, and raiders might have simply invaded but then why would they have fixed the beacon.” And if it was someone else coming into their old compound, what would they do with Logan? No, Janus had to go back, he had to check on his brother. He had-

“No, stop that, I know what you are thinking, Janus.” Virgil’s voice held an edge of frustration and trepidation. “You know what happened the last time you went out into that storm. You almost didn’t survive.”

Janus brought his hand up to the side of his face, both were scared from the violent storms that raged outside. Some days were worse than others, and he had gotten stuck in a hail storm that ripped apart his flesh. The only reason he had survived was that Virgil had found him and dragged him to safety, but Janus had been emotional back then. There was a way for him to cross and he had to know if Logan was still alive.

“You are _totally_ right, I should just allow raiders to find my brother’s body, or worse leave my brother alone.” Janus bit back with a roll of his eyes, tossing his hands in the air.

Virgil didn’t answer and Janus knew he was being just a little bit unfair, but how could he not. This was his brother.

“Fine, if you want to risk your life-” Virgil cut himself off and took in a deep breath. “Look, Dee, I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Janus turned to look at his boyfriend and companion. They were both frustrated. Emotions were high. Janus also took in a deep breath. “I know, and I’m not dumb enough to want to go out into the storm after what happened. That’s why I let you do all of the scavenging, even though being stuck in here is maddening… but… I left him, Virge.” He sat down next to Virgil on the bed. “I am not proud of it but I left him there, alone.”

Janus put his hand in his face, mildly irritating his scars but not enough to stop him. “I… I have to. I’m aware that this is the stupidest thing, literally the stupidest thing I have ever suggested, but I have to.”

“You know I don’t like this right?” He asked.

“Yeah, but I won’t apologize.”

“Alright, let’s start planning. If it means that much, guess I’ll make a plan.” Virgil sighed. “I’m gonna be so pissed if you get us killed.” He laced his fingers with Janus and the two just sat there for a little bit. They knew this was a dangerous and stupid idea but Virgil had been alone for a long time before he had found Janus, passed out and bloody in the middle of a storm, and he could understand the kind of hell that loneliness was.

After a few minutes of just silently being together, taking care of each other emotionally, without saying a word, Virgil stood up. He dragged Janus with him and they began to plan their trip across the wastes, hoping that there were shelters still stable enough to take cover from the storm.

It took them a few weeks to come up with a plan that Virgil would agree to, and then another week to gather all of the supplies they would need to make the trek across the wastes. A month had passed and the light still blinked, giving Janus a mixed feeling of dread and hope.

“Ready to go?” Virgil looked at Janus, hoping that he might back out of this at the last minute, but his boyfriend just nodded, adjusting the straps on his pack.

Janus couldn’t find the words to reply, so he just nodded.

They both pulled up their hoods and face coverings before Virgil threw one last look at their home. Janus knew it hadn’t been much but it had a lot of memories for both of them, and he was thankful that Virgil was willing to leave it behind. This couldn’t have been easy for him. Change was hard enough, but change into an uncertain environment was so much worse.

“Yeah, okay, sure, let’s do this.” Virgil wasn’t ready, it was obvious in his voice, but Janus was sure he wouldn’t ever really be ready, so they headed outside.

The trek itself was dangerous, braving the storms, hopping from one building to the next, hoping that it would stand. Each night they had to stop and rest, Virgil would be shaking, and Janus would have to talk him down, telling him sweet lies about how they were safe. It worked, but only just enough to get them through the next day.

Somehow, by the grace of whatever powers were left, the two of them made it to the compound, Janus slamming his fist on the door once they got there. The locks had been changed but they had also been well maintained. A lot of the parts weren’t new and Janus hoped that meant that Logan was still there.

He tried to play it cool, tried to keep himself calm as the door was opened and they were ushered in, but that wasn’t Logan.

“And who are you?” His voice was soft and smooth but a bit of rage boiled underneath it. Raiders had come, hadn’t they? Where was his brother?

“Well Kiddo, my name is Patton. What’s yours?” He asked, and Janus could feel the tension rising in him. How could this man be so happy when Logan might be dead?

He fought back his snap as Virgil put a hand on his shoulder. Taking in a shaky breath he looked back at the bubbly man. “You can call me Dee, this wasn’t originally your compound, was there someone here when you found this place?”

Patton looked confused but then his eyes lit up. “You know about Logan!” He shouted, taking Janus’ hand and practically dragging him towards Logan’s lab. That didn’t make him feel better. What if they had found Logan, sitting at his lab chair, still as the grave?

He could hear Virgil following behind him, at least he had someone with him. At least he would have some support in this.

“Logan, I found someone you might know!”

“Just because I have lived here for a long time doesn’t mean that I know all of the mice that scuttle about Patton.” That voice, it was the last voice Janus expected to ever hear again. The hope he had been pushing down blossomed anew as he stepped forward.

“You look like a dork,” Janus said softly as he looked over Logan, a little worse for wear, but still very much alive.

His words must have struck something in Logan because he froze, turning to look at the group, squinting at Janus as if he was trying to figure out if this was real. “Janus?”

Janus nodded weakly, watching as Logan walked towards him before crushing him in a hug. Literally crushing as Logan couldn’t tell how much pressure he was putting on Janus.

“Too tight nerd.”

Logan relaxed his grip and Janus hugged back, pulling back slowly before looking over Logan.

“What have you done to my delicate machinery?”

“Well you have been gone for a long time, I had to do repairs on my own, and this is not my area of expertise.”

“Yeah, yeah, blame it on me,” Janus smirked and shook his head, pushing Logan towards the bench. “Let me look everything over. What have you been oiling your joints with?”

“Vegetable oil, it was the only substitute I had while being stuck here. But it looks like you had your reasons for not coming back. Are you physically adequate?”

“I am perfect, can’t you tell?” He rolled his eyes. “The scars are mostly healed. There isn’t much pain.” He said as he looked Logan over. “Sorry I was gone so long.”

“It’s good to have you back home.”

“Home…” He muttered, “Yeah… it’s good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this! I am so thankful for all of my readers. If you would like to join me for conversation I have a discord! https://discord.gg/3bP9mYbhje

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, I'm already writing part two where you find out about Janus, but please feel free to ask me any questions. If you don't want to message me here, you can also message me on discord.
> 
> https://discord.gg/3bP9mYbhje


End file.
